The invention described herein may be manufactured, used and licensed by or for the Government for Government purposes without the payment to us of any royalties thereon,
Technical Field
The present invention provides an aluminumxe2x80x94lithium titanium carbide alloy composite material, and comprises a method of mixing an inxe2x80x94situ aluminum matrix composite and an aluminum lithium alloy via a spray deposition process to obtain an aluminum lithium matrix composite.
For high temperature aerospace applications, Ti alloys are often used to produce structural parts, However the costs have often been the drawback. Finding an alternative has motivated the development of advanced aluminum alloys to satisfy the requirement of Ti alloys.
Among the aluminum systems developed over the decades, the aluminum transitional element family has so far given the most promising properties. With improvement in processing techniques and conditions, these dispersionsxe2x80x94strengthened aluminum alloys exhibit strength up to 600 MPa. 17% elongation and fracture toughness of 25 MPa( at room temperature and retain strength of 300 MPa up to 315 Centigrade.
A new class of elevatedxe2x80x94temperature aluminum based materials is being developed by incorporating the concept of metal matrix compounds (MMC) into designs. It has been shown by introducing the matrix with ceramic particles, the strength of the MMC is increased by as much as 100 MPAs over the monolithic counterpart. Work is continuing on advancing MMCs with the properties of the existing elevatedxe2x80x94temperature materials to produce high strength, better thermomechanical response composites.
This invention provides the processing means by which monostructural requirements are obtained in producing a lighted material with superior ballistic protection compared to that of conventional aluminum armor alloys. Conventional aluminum alloys are a strain hardened material processed through direct chilled casting followed by warm and cold rolling. The ballistic performance of the alloys improves with increasing yield strength. Armor strength is limited by the lack of workability with increasingly hardness.
Aluminum -lithium alloys are developed as a lightweight replacement for conventional high strength aerospace aluminum alloys. Addition of lithium to aluminum lowers the density, and enhances stiffness and strength of the aluminum alloy. Ballistic performance of the aluminumxe2x80x94lithium is limited by delamination and spall due to impurities along highly delineated fibrous grains developed from processing.
The present invention circumvents the aforementioned difficulties via processing. The present method provides for the mixing of an inxe2x80x94situ particulate reinforced aluminum and an aluminumxe2x80x94lithium alloy. The inxe2x80x94situ particulate reinforced aluminum alloy may be process from prolonged precipitation in a heavily alloyed molten aluminum melt or by other proprietary method. The main criteria for the inxe2x80x94situ composite is that it contain thermodynamically stable subxe2x80x94micron reinforcements.
It is an object of the present invention to provide and disclose a light weight, lithium containing aluminum composite having superior ballistic properties.
It is an object of the invention to provide and disclose a light weight lithium aluminum composite having an ultra fine grain size.
It is a further object of the invention to provide and disclose a method for mixing inxe2x80x94situ of the aluminum matrix composite with aluminumxe2x80x94lithium via spray deposition process to obtain an Alxe2x80x94TiC matrix composite